Religion & Law

Frank Rich: Opposition to same-sex ?marriage? is ?brain-dead?

Posted on April 20, 2009
New York Times: "As the polls attest, the majority of Americans who support civil unions for gay couples has been steadily growing. Younger voters are fine with marriage. Generational changeover will seal the deal. Crunching all the numbers, the poll maven Nate Silver sees same-sex marriage achieving majority support 'at some point in the 2010s...

Bill O?Reilly: Kids Gone Wild

Posted on April 20, 2009
Bill O'Reilly writes at Townhall: "Supporters of the sexting law say it's necessary so that teenagers will not be prosecuted as sexual offenders and have their lives ruined. There is some validity to that as dopey kids do dopey things. However, the sane solution would be to categorize sexting as a misdemeanor breach of the peace, thus sending a message that it is unacceptable for kids to send other kids sexual images...

Hate Crimes Legislation Threatens Freedom of Speech and Religion

Posted on April 20, 2009
Liberty Counsel: "On Wednesday, April 22, the House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on so-called 'hate crimes' legislation, which would give 'sexual orientation' and 'gender identity' the same federal protection as race. Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) and Rep...

Minnesota?s Missing Votes: Some Senate absentee ballots are more equal than others.

Posted on April 20, 2009
The Wall Street Journal: "By the end of the recount, the state was awash with evidence of duplicate ballot counting, newly discovered ballots, missing ballots, illegal voting, and wildly diverse standards as to which votes were counted. Any one of these issues was enough to throw the outcome into doubt...

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Pakistan: Court clears two Christians of blasphemy charges after two years in prison

Posted on April 20, 2009
AsiaNews.it: "James and Buta Masih had been imprisoned since 2006 on charges of burning a copy of the Qur'an in the street. The court has declared the charges unfounded, and has ordered their release. A Catholic priest calls for the repeal of the law on blasphemy, which he calls 'killer...

?My Students. My Cellphone. My Ordeal.?

Posted on April 20, 2009
Ting Yei-Oei writes at the Washington Post: "The Channel 4 Newsbreak was meant to shock: 'High school assistant principal in Loudoun County arrested for child pornography,' announced WRC's Jim Vance. 'Details following the Olympics.'"

David Cortman on the Complete Story with Dick Bott: Atlanta schools block Christian club

Posted on April 20, 2009
ADF Attorney David Cortman appeared on the Complete Story with Dick Bott to discuss a case involving censorship of a Christian student club by an Atlanta public schools. The mp3 runs just over 29 minutes. ADF press release: School rules out religion: Atlanta Public Schools challenged after blocking club

Poll: Majority in NY support same-sex ?marriage? bill

Posted on April 20, 2009
CNN: "A new poll indicates that majority of New Yorkers support the legalization of same-sex marriages. Fifty-three percent of New Yorkers questioned in a Siena College Research Institute poll support a bill that would allow same-sex couples to wed, with 39 percent opposing the move...

Presidential Picks Deserve a Vote: Executive nominees shouldn?t be filibustered.

Posted on April 20, 2009
Walter Dellinger writes at the Wall Street Journal: "On the eve of George W. Bush's inauguration in 2001, I cautioned fellow Democrats against 'delaying or denying confirmation of nominees to cabinet and subcabinet posts.' I argued on these pages that blocking executive nominees would weaken the presidency and be counterproductive for the opposition: 'If a president cannot promptly place his chosen people in key offices, he can hardly be held fully responsible for the missteps of the administration...

Jennifer Roback Morse: What about those octopulets?

Posted on April 20, 2009
href="http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/what_about_those_octuplets/">writes at MercatorNet: "What are we to make of the case of Nadya Suleman, the California woman who gave birth to octuplets through IVF? The case has inspired lots of internet chatter and water cooler talk...

Lawyer Owes Ethics Duty to Non-Client

Posted on April 20, 2009
Legal Blog Watch: "When a prospective client consents to having a lawyer speak to a second lawyer on his behalf regarding the possibility of establishing an attorney-client relationship, the second lawyer has an obligation under Rules 1.6 and 1.18 to treat the communication as confidential, even if the second lawyer never speaks directly with the prospective client...

President?s Faith Based Council Creates 6 Task Forces; Administration will handle Religious Hiring directly

Posted on April 20, 2009
The Religion Clause Blog: "The task forces are on (1) reform of the faith-based office, (2) fatherhood, (3) U.S. economic recovery, (4) interreligious dialogue, (5) global poverty, and (6) the environment and climate change." The post links to this report in the Washington Post which indicates: "But the hiring issue is so complex, thorny and politically charged, officials have decided that it will get hashed out by the president's legal counsel and the attorney general's office, primarily...

NJ Insiders: GOP More Wary Of Same Sex ?Marriage? Issue

Posted on April 20, 2009
National Journal: "National Journal's regular survey of Political Insiders this week yielded some pretty interesting responses to the question of gay marriage. For starters, a solid majority of the 102 Democratic Political Insiders who were polled--59 percent--said that from a political perspective, they thought their party should support gay marriage ...

Supreme Court turns down challenge to jury?s use of Bible

Posted on April 20, 2009
AP: "The Supreme Court has turned away a challenge from a death row inmate in Texas who claimed his constitutional rights were violated by jurors who consulted a Bible during deliberations."

Hearing today: Tenn. school ordered references to God and prayer covered up on posters

Posted on April 20, 2009
Alliance Defense Fund Senior Counsel Nate Kellum will be available for media interviews following a hearing Monday in a lawsuit against the Wilson County School Board. ADF attorneys filed suit on behalf of parents and students at Lakeview Elementary School after school officials ordered ?In God We Trust? and other phrases referencing God and prayer to be covered up on posters before they could be displayed in the school?s hallways.

Joe Infranco: ?Day of Truth? Responds to GLSEN ?Day of Silence?

Posted on April 20, 2009
ADF Senior Counsel Joe Infranco writing at Crosswalk: The Day of Truth hit a nerve with both supporters and opponents. Opponents were struck by the sheer audacity that someone would express an opinion off the ?party line.? Supporters, on the other hand, were thrilled to see the issue engaged...

Will the Prayers for Pulpit Freedom be Answered?

Posted on April 20, 2009
Albany Government Law Review Fireplace: "Pulpit Freedom Sunday was initiated by the Alliance Defense Fund as part of their Pulpit Initiative. The Pulpit Initiative was created as a movement to return to churches the rights to free speech that it had prior to the 1954 'Johnson Amendment'".

Christian students to break silence with ?Day of Truth?

Posted on April 20, 2009
Christian Post: "Held each year since 2005, the Day of Truth was established to 'counter the promotion of the homosexual agenda and [express] an opposing viewpoint from a Christian perspective,' according to the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), the Christian legal group that sponsors the annual event...

Vermont is fourth state to approve same-sex ?marriage?

Posted on April 20, 2009
Christian Century: In a similar vein, attorney Austin R. Nimocks of the Alliance Defense Fund, which opposed the same-sex marriage measure in Vermont, told Baptist Press that the legislature "made a profound social policy statement that mothers and fathers are not necessary for the family, and that the sex of a parent doesn't matter...

Pro-lifers claim victory in Buckeye State

Posted on April 20, 2009
OneNewsNow: "After the pro-lifers disbursed, Alliance Defense Fund filed suit on their behalf -- but the city has since settled the case and has been ordered to pay the pro-life group's legal expenses amounting to about $25,000."

National Organization for Marriage to Steve Schmidt: ?Losing Elections Does Not Make You an Expert on Gay Marriage?

Posted on April 20, 2009
Christian Newswire: "Steven Schmidt? Isn't this the guy who ran a failed presidential campaign, who advised a failed governor (Arnold Schwarzenegger) who insiders say was recently fired by Meg Whitman?" Brown continued, "Sure, we can understand why Steve would be looking for a way to make some new friends -- but why would anyone take his advice on how to win elections at this point?"

A winning strategy to stop ?gay marriage??

Posted on April 20, 2009
Baptist Press: "In mid-September, a Field Poll showed Proposition 8 -- the constitutional amendment prohibiting "gay marriage" -- trailing 55-38 percent among likely voters. But two weeks later, Prop 8 supporters launched an ad arguing that schoolchildren would be taught about gay marriage, and the message stuck...

Judge orders review of FBI records on Muslims

Posted on April 20, 2009
Mercury News (AP): "A federal judge in Orange County has ordered the FBI to turn over records related to a group of Muslim activists and organizations so the court can determine whether they should be made public."

Same-sex joint custody case heard in Missoula

Posted on April 20, 2009
Montana News Station: "In this case as a matter of law, there can only be one natural parent. Because we had a single parent adoption," said Austin Nimocks, Maniaci's senior legal council. "And when you look at the statutory parameters of who can become a natural parent and how they can become, that's the only possible avenue...

NC: Time to build on charter schools? successes

Posted on April 20, 2009
Salisbury Post: "Revisions in the charter school legislation passed by the 1996 General Assembly need to be made as a result of the success of the charter school movement in our state. While the mandated cap of only 100 charter schools for a state with 9...

Robert P. George on the NIH Embryonic Stem Cell Research Guidelines

Posted on April 20, 2009
Robert P. George writes at Moral Accountability: "Obama?s recent executive order rescinding President Bush?s August 9, 2001 executive order on the subject opened the door for guidelines that would have authorized federal government funding of research involving cell lines deriving from the creation of human embryos by cloning, in vitro fertilization, and other means specifically for research in which they are killed...

House Committee Takes Up ?Hate-Crimes? Bill: Scheduled for Wednesday

Posted on April 20, 2009
Citizen Link: "Democrats in Congress are pushing to create a new class of crimes based on the victim's 'actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.'. . . The U.S. House Judiciary Committee is expected to take up the legislation ? H.R. 1913 ? this week...

RI: Woman charged with assault at strip club

Posted on April 20, 2009
The Providence Journal: "The police said a 23-year-old woman was charged Saturday with felony assault after she allegedly picked up a glass and smashed it on another woman?s head at Club Fantasies, a strip club at 28 Sims Ave."

Texas: Mother devastated after son gunned down outside strip club

Posted on April 20, 2009
WOAI.com: "According to police, 26-year-old Jesse James Garcia and his neighbor, 21-year-old Orlando Saldana, were shot to death while they sat inside a car near the strip club."

Cardinal Pell: Catholic Church reponsible for African HIV-AIDS crisis; Pigs will fly before that argument does.

Posted on April 20, 2009
Cardinal George Pell of Australia writes at News.com.au: "To blame Catholic teaching for the spread of HIV/AIDS requires proof that those following the first essential Christian requirement of living chastely within and before marriage are still dying of AIDS...

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